LBI: Inside the Game Summary

2016 KLAA Lakes Conference West Division Play

“Howell Explodes in the 4th to Take Division Lead”

Tuesday February 9, 2016

Hartland High School

Hartland High School played host to a pivotal matchup Tuesday night with at least a share of the division title on the line as the Eagles played took on the Howell Highlanders.  Both teams came in with 12-2 records, both also 7-1 in division play.

After a pretty even start to the game, Hartland would end up committing a lot of turnovers, some of which set up a pair of triples by Howell Sophomores Paige Johnson and Leah Weslock.  The Eagles would recover on offense however and after 1 they were up 10-9.

Hartland got off to a fast start in the 2nd quarter. They opened it on a 6-1 run in part due to not 1 but 2 pick and roll layups by Junior Captain Lexey Tobel.  She would get a 3rd in the 4th quarter as well.  After that run it would be a defensive showcase leading up to the half.  Leading that showcase was Highlanders Senior Erin Honkala, getting 2 blocks in the final 4 minutes of the half.  Hartland would still lead 18-15.

“Erin Honkala is a real warrior,” said Howell Coach Tim Olsewski, “people don’t realize that she didn’t even get to practice yesterday because she got injured with her shoulder.”

The defensive stand would continue in the 3rd for Howell as Hartland was shut out for over half of the 3rd quarter.  During that time Howell got the lead on a 6-0 run capped off by a layup from Senior Brittney Resinger.  Finally Hartland would come back to tie it at the buzzer at 25 with a layup by Tobel.

Despite the close game after 24 minutes, the Highlanders would catch fire in the final 8 minutes and never looked back. Honkala led the charge for her team as she managed to get a pick and roll as well as a layup and a foul which she turned into 3 points.  She would lead the Highlanders at the end of the night with 16 points.  Despite a couple nice layups from Tobel and Sophomore Graysen Cockerham, the Eagles would go ice cold in the final minutes.  Howell would pull away with a 10-0 run and would end up winning 46-35.

The Highlanders have now won at least a share of the division and will be back at Hartland on the 29th for the opening round of the MHSAA Districts.

Leading scorers on the night: Hartland: Alex Rigonan 17, Graysen Cockerham 10, Emily Messner 9.  Howell: Erin Honkala 16, Leah Weslock 14, Paige Johnson 11.

Game and Team Highlights

Hartland:

• Lexey Tobel showed great hands and speed as she would get 3 pick and rolls on the night, 2 in the 2nd quarter, 1 in the 4th.
• Grayson Cockerham showed some skill on offense as well with a pair of triples as well as a layup in the 4th to keep the game close.

Howell:

• Erin Honkala was a beast up and down the court with her ability to block shots on top of leading her team with 16 points.
• The entire team played defense well to start the 2nd half by shutting out the Eagles for 4 ½ minutes in the 3rd.